Charity’s Fine Points and More Challenging Aspects

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THAT gospel episode about Christ’s townspeople finding it hard to believe that one of their own could speak the way Christ did (cfr. Mk 6,1-6) reminds us of the danger of overfamiliarity and self-satisfaction that would prevent us from recognizing the real Christ and the will and ways he has for us in every situation we may find ourselves in.

It prods us to always be refining and deepening our faith, never saying enough in our pursuit for holiness, also known as our duty to follow Christ. In this regard, we need to always look into the fine points of charity and its more challenging aspects.

We should never say that we are already good enough, kind enough, generous enough, etc. If we truly follow Christ, we can always do more and be more, until we become more and more like him as we should be.

While it’s indeed laudable that in whatever we do, we try to give it our best shot, we should also remember that our best will never be enough insofar as pleasing God and everybody else is concerned. Our best can always be made better.

This should not surprise us, much less, cause us to worry. But we should acknowledge it so that we avoid getting self-satisfied with what we have done and then fall into self-complacency. That’s when we stop growing and improving as a human person and as a child of God.

We have to remember that we are meant for the infinite, for the spiritual and the supernatural. That’s a goal that we can never fully reach in our life here on earth. But we are meant to keep on trying.

This is, of course, an overwhelming prospect, but that is what true love is. It is some kind of madness that knows no limits. It is given without measure, without cost, without any calculation.

And even if such total self-giving is not reciprocated, it would still go on loving. It is purely gratuitous. Even more, even if it is not only unreciprocated but is also violently resisted and rejected, it would still go on loving.

Obviously, if we are to rely only on our own powers, there is no way we can have this kind of self-giving. This can only take place if we are truly identified with Christ, if we have his grace and are corresponding to it with all that we have got.

It’s only in this condition that we can go beyond the limits of our natural self and above the usual drama in life. We of course have our limitations, physical, mental, emotional, etc. And yet, as long as we are truly with Christ, we can still manage to give ourselves unstintingly. The spiritual and supernatural in us through Christ would enable us to give ourselves despite our natural limitations and worldly conditions.

That is why Christ commanded us to love even our enemies, to offer the other cheek when we are slapped in one cheek. That’s because true love does not count the cost. Let’s remember that Christ in loving us assumed all our sins and conquered them by dying on the cross and rising from the dead. He even asked the Father to forgive those who crucified him.

This is the paradigm of love which we have to pursue in our daily life with all its concerns, varying circumstances, trials, etc. It’s a love that unavoidably involves suffering, self-denial, the carrying of the cross. It’s a love that should culminate in the way Christ culminated his love for us in obedience to the will of the Father—through his passion and death that would lead to his resurrection, the final victory.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com